February 12 2025

1. Teacher Released from Russian Prison After Trump Meeting with Mother
2. Seven Illinois Counties Vote to Secede; Indiana Extends Welcome
3. Super Bowl 2025 Hits 127.7 Million Viewers, Most-Watched Ever
4. Companies Begin Tying Office Attendance to Pay and Promotions
5. As China Tensions Rise, U.S. Faces Critical Gap in Commercial Maritime Power
February 12, 1999: President Bill Clinton acquitted on both articles of impeachment

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1. Teacher Released from Russian Prison After Trump Meeting with Mother

Just minutes before President Trump escaped an assassin’s bullet at a campaign rally in Butler, Pa., he held a brief backstage meeting with a 95-year-old local woman whose son, Marc Fogel, had spent three years in a Russian jail.  Linking arms with Trump, Malphine Fogel recounted her son’s ordeal, how she was struggling to get the Biden administration to prioritize his case and her fears for his health. Flashing a thumbs-up before a camera, Trump promised to “get him out,” then invited her onto the VIP section of the stage to watch him speak. She was only feet away from the rostrum when shots rang out, with a single bullet grazing Trump’s ear. The candidate was tackled and a congressman shielded Fogel from incoming fire. On Tuesday, the high school history teacher who ultimately spent 1,277 days in Russian custody flew back to the U.S. with special envoy Steve Witkoff and met with President Trump at the White House. “I feel like the luckiest man on earth right now,” Fogel said. “I will forever be indebted to President Trump, to Steve over there.”

Article Source: WSJ

2. Seven Illinois Counties Vote to Secede; Indiana Extends Welcome

In November, to little national notice, seven Illinois counties voted to consider seceding, and now Indiana is rolling out the welcome mat. Voters in Iroquois, Calhoun, Clinton, Greene, Jersey, Madison and Perry counties approved a nonbinding ballot question on cutting ties with Illinois. The votes weren’t close. Six of the seven counties approved the advisory question by more than 70%. Iroquois County’s vote was some 72%, and Calhoun County’s near 76%. Indiana House Speaker Todd Huston says the Illinois counties would be more than welcome to come on over. On Jan. 14 the Republican introduced legislation to establish the Indiana-Illinois Boundary Adjustment Commission, which would include five members appointed by the Indiana Governor and five members appointed under Illinois law, to discuss moving the state line. “We think instead of seceding and creating a 51st state, [Illinois residents] should just join us,” Mr. Huston said.

Article Source: WSJ

3. Super Bowl 2025 Hits 127.7 Million Viewers, Most-Watched Ever

After finalized data came in from Nielsen, the total number of average viewers for Super Bowl LIX rose to 127.7 million, a 3% increase on 2024’s 123.7 million that further cements the game’s status as the biggest TV audience of all time. Additionally, Fox reports that average viewership during Kendrick Lamar’s halftime show was even higher, reaching 133.5 million — another all-time high, improving by 3% on the 129.3 million viewers achieved by Usher’s halftime show in 2024.

Article Source: Variety

4. Companies Begin Tying Office Attendance to Pay and Promotions

There is a new front in the return to office battle. Some companies are not just stiffening their mandates but are increasingly monitoring attendance and using the data gathered in performance and pay reviews. After several years of employees calling the shots on working habits, especially when the labour market was tight, bosses are seeking to exert more influence. “Companies are getting more prescriptive,” including linking pay and promotions to the return to the office, said Maria Colacurcio, chief executive of Syndio, a pay software company. “I am noticing it.” Lloyds Banking Group, for example, is keeping a hybrid working policy but will take into account the office attendance of senior executives when awarding their bonuses. PwC has said it will monitor attendance and send staff and their career coaches data on their locations every month.

Article Source: FT

5. As China Tensions Rise, U.S. Faces Critical Gap in Commercial Maritime Power

Rising tensions with China are prompting Washington to revisit America’s roots as a trading nation of the seas. Protecting merchant sailors and their cargo was what compelled Congress to commission the U.S. Navy’s first new warships. That was in 1794, targeting North African Barbary pirates. The young republic’s seaborne traders, a linchpin of economic growth, were vital to national security. The Navy became a mighty global fighting force. America’s commercial cargo fleet has withered almost to nonexistence.  No nation has ever successfully ranked as a world naval power without also being a global maritime power. Countries that tried but failed to project seaborne might without robust commercial sea networks include the Soviet Union, Nazi Germany and Spain before the Spanish-American War. Not long ago, America led the world in sea freight. At the end of World War II, the U.S. commercial marine fleet accounted for about half of the world’s cargo-shipping capacity. An American entrepreneur in the 1950s pioneered the shipping container, which revolutionized international commerce.  The Navy today expends vast resources from the Red Sea to the South China Sea defending the freedom of navigation, but few ships being protected fly the American flag.  U.S. commercial ships today account for less than 1% of the world fleet. U.S. ports are racked by strikes and battles over the type of automation that has supercharged expansion of container terminals across the globe. The Navy struggles to find commercial vessels to support its far-flung operations.  

Article Source: WSJ

February 12, 1999: President Bill Clinton acquitted on both articles of impeachment

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Sources

1. https://www.wsj.com/world/russia/marc-fogel-released-russian-prison-0f8f5fc9?mod=hp_lead_pos7

2. https://www.wsj.com/opinion/illinois-counties-secession-vote-indiana-j-b-pritzker-todd-huston-5a93d624?st=vSAbKA&reflink=article_copyURL_share

3. https://variety.com/2025/tv/news/super-bowl-2025-ratings-viewers-1236302721/

4. https://www.ft.com/content/39c51272-6fa8-4406-ad55-5526ee147a48

5. https://www.wsj.com/politics/national-security/fear-that-china-rules-the-waves-jolts-u-s-to-pursue-maritime-revival-2c4bd8ab?st=xbQy3j&reflink=article_copyURL_share